The growing identity theft

One of the criminal activities with the fastest growth rates worldwide is phishing for financial gain. According to the statistics, deceptions have proven to be inventive and successful enough to cause people of all ages, educational backgrounds, and socioeconomic groups to fail. Therefore, in addition to your new year's resolutions, it might be convenient to include taking extra care with your finances and the privacy of your personal information.

According to Javelin Strategy and Research, identity fraud losses involving the use of a consumer's information for unauthorized financial gain totaled $24 billion and affected 15 million consumers in the United States alone in 2021. Additionally, losses from identity fraud scams that involved the victims and criminals having direct contact with each other totaled usd28 billion and had a negative impact on 27 million customers.

Making phone calls or sending electronic messages to the victims is one of the most common ways to obtain data through deception. In keeping with national statistics, the Federal Trade Commission reports that in 2021, 24 percent of adults over 60 reported losing money as a result of scams that started with phone calls; the percentage jumps to 40 percent among whistleblowers over 80 years old.

The explanation for this seems to be straightforward: the deception that was introduced at the outset of the conversation, the message of alluring promises delivered in a cordial manner, or the declaration of an urgent "problem" that needs to be resolved. The false emergency trap involves gathering information from the victims in order to commit a number of offenses, access personal accounts, social media profiles, or emails, and then carry out operations from there.

Identity thieves are committed to obtaining, with or without the consent of the consumer, the raw materials necessary to use your personal information hosted in an application, on the cell phone, the computer, or the server. In the digital world, where life is easier and almost everything we do leaves a trace in a form or in some file on the internet, these materials can be extracted from applications, computers, servers, and other digital storage devices. Observing the growing number of investment opportunities in the stock of well-known international corporations on social media networks and the high number of high-paying job opportunities leaves one speechless.

Not to mention the banking services, which fraudsters frequently replace and attempt to trick account holders into believing by gaining unauthorized access to their accounts. Whatever the case, there are a few fundamental safety rules that need to be followed.

Enroll in electronic two-step verification to open critical files or reveal your true identity to the organization. Never pick up the phone or respond to texts coming from unknown numbers.

If a bank calls you about an unusual transaction, disconnect the call and make the call yourself. Alternatively, it may be simpler to keep important phone numbers in your contact list.

Verify the email address in any emails you receive to ensure it is legitimate. Before sending sensitive information, make sure you know who it is going to.

Personal information or passwords are never requested by banks. Visit the website for your online banking personally.

Due to cyber attacks that compromise the information of public and private organizations, including governments, we are powerless to change the course of the world, but we can avert unfavorable events that are dependent on our personal responsibility.

Identity thieves are committed to obtaining, with or without the consent of the consumer, the raw materials necessary to use your personal information hosted in an application, on the cell phone, the computer, or the server.